Local artist prepares to reproduce denim work by renowned British artist Ian Berry for Quilt City USA® Murals
Denim on Denim by Ian Berry
Paducah, KY, September 28, 2023—Paducah Quilt Murals Inc (PQMI) is pleased to announce that painting will soon commence on a third mural in the Quilt City USA® Murals series. Tanya Neitzke, one of six juried local artists selected to paint photo-realistic representations of notable quilts, will recreate “The Cheyenne has Gone,” a denim on denim textile creation by British artist Ian Berry. Brothers Tom and Jim DeCillis from Paducah are the sponsors of the upcoming mural, which is anticipated to be completed and installed in Spring 2024.
Quilt City USA Murals, located on the floodwall adjacent to the Carroll Convention Center at 415 Park Street, currently showcases two contemporary quilts. The premier panel painted by Lead Artist Char Downs, featuring “Corona II, Solar Eclipse” by Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry, was unveiled on September 13, 2017. The second mural by Paducah artist Stefanie Graves is a painted replica of “…and Our Flag was Still There!” by Melinda Bula of California. The mural was unveiled on Veterans Day, November 11, 2020, at 11 am.
A Quilt Selection Committee headed by American Quilter’s Society (AQS) Show Director Bonnie Browning has established guidelines for existing and upcoming mural images. Approved quilts must reflect historic, educational, humanitarian, or environmental relevance, or have an iconic provenance to their time in history and showcase a broad spectrum of techniques (pieced, appliqued, etc.) and diverse color schemes. After reviewing the available approved options, Berry’s “The Cheyenne has Gone,” which features a former soda fountain bar in London, was the one that resonated with the DeCillis brothers. The DeCillis’ are avid collectors of family and 50s era memorabilia and reproduced a vintage soda fountain bar in Jim’s historic home in Lower Town. They became interested in the project after attending an event hosted by PQMI in April 2023 and learning the history and process of creating and installing the Murals.
About Ian Berry, Textile Artist
A resident of London, Berry was born in Huddersfield, a woolen textile community in West Yorkshire, England. He studied graphic design and advertising at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College before launching an illustrious creative career that dubbed him a “Jeanius” by the UK’s Daily Mail and named him one of the 2013 “Top 30 Artists Under 30 in the World” by Art Business News, the magazine of today’s forward-thinking art professionals. He was recently named one of the 100 most influential people in the denim industry by WeAr, a global magazine celebrating interesting work involving denim, sustainability, and innovations in fabric.
Berry uses ordinary denim to create extraordinary art. At first glance, his work appears to be blue-toned photographs or indigo-colored oil paintings. In reality, they are made of many layers and shades of denim jeans. Berry’s work has been seen across the globe, with a number of sell-out solo shows in London and Sweden, museums and galleries in the United States, and American art fairs, including Art Basel in Miami Beach, Florida, which showcases masters of modern and contemporary art.
Berry is no stranger to Paducah. In April 2018, AQS and Paducah Arts Alliance (PAA) teamed up for a creative collaboration as Berry participated in the PAA’s artist in residence program, presenting talks and demonstrations to students and arts organizations, and later creating an impressive multi-room denim art installation for AQS QuiltWeek. While working with students at Paducah Tilghman High School, Berry took their concerns for dull scissors to heart and coordinated an effort with AQS vendors to donate new scissors to the art department.
Preservation, creative reuse, and the changing urban landscape are objectives that Berry strives to portray in his artwork as he recycles denim for his photographic-style eco-art. “I enjoy learning about how art regenerates places that industry has changed. Paducah is known for that. To have a presence of my work there for all to see is very humbling,” said Berry. He appreciates the feeling of Paducah as a real American town. “I made lots of friends and have kept in touch with so many people I met there. It will be amazing to see it all come together. In a turn of events it was fantastic to find out I already knew the artist who will paint it.”
About Tanya Neitzke, Muralist
Tanya Neitzke, originally from Watertown, NY, is an artist and the Assistant Professor of Painting and FYE at the West Kentucky Community & Technical College’s Paducah School of Art & Design. She received her M.F.A. degree at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Her work has been included in various solo, two-person, and group national and international exhibitions.
Neitzke is especially excited to replicate one of Berry’s art pieces with paint. “I first meant Ian Berry and his beautiful in-depth work when he came to Paducah for AQS QuiltWeek in 2018,” said Neitzke. “I am honored to use my love for paint to render Ian’s work and live in the world of Indigo that he lives in.” Neitzke will be using studio space at PSAD to paint the mural.
For more information about the project, visit paducahquiltmurals.org. To set up an interview with the sponsors or muralist, contact Rosemarie Steele 270.331.5588 or Cindy Butterbaugh 270.994.8091.
About Paducah Quilt Murals Inc
Paducah Quilt Murals Inc is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization created for the Quilt City USA® Murals Project. The mission of Quilt City USA Murals is to educate both locals and visitors on the relevance and rich history of quiltmaking! From the early settlers to the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976 and beyond, the history of America can be seen in the history of quilts. This visionary public art project marries two ancient and modern artforms–quilting and mural painting–and showcases the talent and skill of local artists.
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